Disasters - a growing problem around the world.It's a fact - disasters are on the rise around the world. According to one estimate, the 1990s saw a tripling of disasters and a nine-fold increase in economic costs when compared with the 1960s. Climate change,earthquake,floods,storm increasing concentrations of people in vulnerable areas, and political and economic instability are all contributing factors.
The challenge is - how do we deal with this growing dilemma?

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Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Mumbai: A 28-year-old scooterist lost his life after he was flung onto the road, unable to navigate a pothole on the Western Express Highway, at Malad (E), on Tuesday night.

Umesh Shinde, a civil engineer, was returning from work when the mishap occurred. The Kurar police admitted that the authorities should have filled up the pothole, but no FIR has been filed. Shinde, who had tied the knot two months back, resided in Andheri (W) with his wife Tejashri, his parents and brother. Although he was wearing a helmet, he is believed to have died due to injuries to his abdomen and liver. 2-ft pothole sealed scooterist's fate Mumbai: A civil engineer who lost his life after he was flung onto the road, unable to navigate a pothole on the Western Express Highway, was employed with a firm at Kandivli (E) for a year and used his Suzuki Access to commute. Umesh Shinde (28) was riding down a flyover, opposite the Times of India building at Malad (E), when he hit the pothole on Tueday night. "The scooter's wheel got stuck in the pothole, around 2 feet in diameter and nearly six inches deep, throwing Shinde to the ground. He landed with a thud and sustained internal injuries. He did not hurt his head as he was wearing a helmet. Traffic policemen on duty called for an autorickshaw. Other vehicles passing by also came to ahalt," said a police official. Shinde was taken to Sai Sparsh Hospital in Malad. His father, Haribhau, who was informed by the police, felt Shinde should be taken to Cooper Hospital at Vile Parle, where he is employed at the post-mortem centre. When Shinde was taken to that hospital, doctors declared him dead. Traffic police officials informed the police control room and the Kurar police recovered Shinde's helmet from the road. "Shinde did not bleed. He had a serious bruise on his abdomen. Doctors said he damaged the right side of his liver in the accident," a police official said. The scooter was towed to the police station and a case of accidental death was recorded. Relatives said Tejashri was inconsolable. Shinde got married on May 6, aweek before his younger brother tied the knot. "Can you imagine a pothole taking away someone's life? How negligent can the authorities be?" a relative said. Officials of the MSRDC, which is in-charge of maintenance of the flyover, said they would comment about the mishap on Thursday. Times View: Crack the whip for these open death traps O nce again the loss of an innocent life to a death trap on Mumbai's roads has exposed civic negligence in maintaining craters. Every year, thousands of these open death traps are left unfilled and unrepaired because of a clear nexus between contractors and officials. It is about time the government cracked whip and sent a clear message that enough is enough, and unrepaired potholes would not be tolerated resulting in strict action. Even if that means sending people responsible behind bars.

KILLER CRATER: The wheel of Shinde's scooter (top) got stuck in the pothole